Thursday, 3 May 2012

Choosing The Right Diet!

While
the new flashy sports car that everyone is driving can be appealing to you, it
may not be right for you depending on your situation. There could be the
obvious obstacle that you must overcome to obtaining it, and that is its cost.
Or, if you have a family of five, it’s simply not a reliable form of
transportation. So why do some choose to follow “fad” diets, diets that
everyone else follows?

Diets
are a lifestyle choice, and as such, they should be very unique to your overall
lifestyle and should not simply mimic what those around you are doing. The
countless fad diets you hear being advertised on television are simply not for
everybody.

To
figure out the diet that is right for you, there are a few standard questions
you can ask:

1. Does it match the style in which I eat?

While
it may be healthy to eat several meals a day and the diet suggests this, but
you know you can realistically only eat lunch and dinner – you won’t last long.
Alternatively, if you travel a lot and have to eat out and can’t eat the diet’s
recommended home cooked meals or spend a lot of time preparing your own dinner,
you should avoid it.

2. Can truly I exercise this much?

Some
diets mix in a lot of physical activity, while others keep it simple to
aerobics. If you’re the kind of person who can’t stand exercise, or isn’t very
active, following a diet that requires 5-6 visits a week to the gym won’t be
something you can realistically follow.

3. Am I willing to deal with this forever?

When
many people start a diet, they have a goal in mind to lose X amount of pounds.
This is the incorrect mindset to have – a diet isn’t a temporary thing, it’s a
lifestyle decision. So, if you think to yourself, “Well, I only have to deal
with this for 6 months to lose 20 pounds” you’re wrong. As soon as you go off
your diet, you will quickly regain those lost pounds.

To
keep the weight off permanently, you need a weight loss plan that you can
follow every single day for the rest of your life.

4. Are the foods practical?

There
are multiple parts to this question. First, don’t pick a diet that excludes
your favorite food groups or is simply not something you like, As said
previously, a diet isn’t a temporary thing – you should be comfortable with
following it for the rest of your life. Secondly, can you afford the food?
While eating fresh fruits and vegetables all day can be rewarding to your
health, fresh fruits tend to be much more expensive than other types of diet
food.

5. How serious am I about this?

Do
you go out to bars with your friends on weekends? Or do you want to have a
little bit of birthday cake at your child’s birthday party? Diets only work
because we can stick to them. The fact is, we don’t like to be chained down by
them either and you need to consider that when choosing a diet. Some diets
allow you some flexibility, while others make you eat nothing but cabbage soup
for every meal.

Take
your goals into consideration, your lifestyle, and your ability to follow a
diet and you’ll be sure to select one that is right for you.